The Board plans to consider the informal comments at its Feb. 3 meeting. Once the Board finalizes the proposed rules, they will go through the normal rulemaking process which will include a public hearing and formal comment period.

The Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS) will be hosting two free webinars on updates to PQRS for 2016 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked that they gather more information about who is using their services and attending programs, so in registering for each program or material download there is a short informational (demographic) survey to be completed.

Prior to adjourning for the holidays, Congress adopted legislation, S. 2425, the “Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act,” which included a provision granting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to expedite applications for exemptions from Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements for the 2015 calendar year.

In order to avoid a penalty under the meaningful use program, eligible professionals must attest that they met the requirements for meaningful use Stage 2 for a period of 90 consecutive days during calendar year 2015.

Updates provide more quality metrics for health care professionals and group practices

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to providing current quality performance data that is useful to the consumer. On December 10, data was refreshed on both the Physician Compare and Hospital Compare websites to improve these consumer online tools.

CMS has announced an extension to request informal review of 2014 AQRUR - December 16, 2015 at 11:59 pm. Your 2014 AQRUR (Annual Quality and Resource Use Report) shows whether you successfully participated in PQRS in 2014, so review AQRUR to make sure your PQRS and VM status are listed correctly. If you feel that there is an error, you can request an informal CMS review.

CMS has issued the final rule updating the payment policies and payment rates for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) on or after January 1, 2016. The rule changes several of the quality reporting initiatives associated with MPFS payments, including PQRS. Highlights include:

Individual eligible professionals (EPs) and group practices that meet the criteria for 2016 PQRS satisfactory reporting/participation will avoid the PQRS negative payment adjustment in 2018